Bubble Bursts on Day 2 of BetMGM Poker Championship
After another nine levels of play in the 2023 BetMGM Poker Championship at the ARIA Resort and Casino, just 56 players survived to bag and tag their stacks into Day 3.
Leading the pack is Mike Vanier with 1,840,000 and rounding out the top three chip stacks are Joshua Boulton and Bradley Hinson who both bagged 1,650,000.
Day 2 Top Ten Chip Counts
| Place | Name | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mike Vanier | United States | 1,840,000 | 92 |
| 2 | Joshua Boulton | United Kingdom | 1,650,000 | 83 |
| 3 | Bradley Hinson | United States | 1,650,000 | 83 |
| 4 | Anatoly Nikitin | Russia | 1,605,000 | 80 |
| 5 | Michael Stashin | United States | 1,570,000 | 79 |
| 6 | Paul Gunness | United States | 1,245,000 | 62 |
| 7 | Justin Young | United States | 1,200,000 | 60 |
| 8 | David Stamm | United States | 1,145,000 | 57 |
| 9 | Fernando Garcia | Spain | 1,135,000 | 57 |
| 10 | Johann Ibanez | Colombia | 1,080,000 | 54 |
The players reached the money bubble during the sixth level of play and unfortunately, Shiva Dudani was the one to leave empty-handed when he got it in with ace-king against Jesse Lonis’ ace-queen and a queen came on the flop. Michael Lavenburg and Adam Miller were the actual players eliminated on the stone bubble but they ended up taking some money home after chopping the min-cash.
Notable names who failed to make the money included 2022 WSOP Main Event Champion Espen Jorstad, Alexandre Vuilleumier, Kristen Foxen, Bin Weng, and defending champion Joey Weissman.
BetMGM qualifier and former MLB player Jason Kipnis managed to make the money and was vying for a deep run until he also got it in with ace-king versus the ace-queen of Gunness when an ace came on the flop and a queen came on the river to send him packing in 107th place for $6,534.
BetMGM Ambassador Darren Elias also had his run end in 91st place ($7,256) at the hands of Gunness when his ace-three could not get there against his foe’s pocket kings.
Famous faces who busted in the money were WSOP bracelet winners Rami Boukai, Ethan Yau, Michael Gathy, Dylan Linde, and Chance Kornuth.
Some of the players returning for Day 3 tomorrow include 2014 WSOP Main Event Champ Martin Jacobson, Jeremy Ausmus, Stephen Song, Brian Hastings, and Nadya Magnus. Also joining them is BetMGM qualifier Bret Bassock who managed to bag a healthy stack.
Those players will return to the PokerGO Studio tomorrow, June 12 at 1 p.m. to play Day 3. The plan for tomorrow is players will then play down to the final seven at which point play will stop for them to return on Tuesday, June 13th to be live-streamed.
As always, keep up to date with all action from this Championship event on PokerNews.